Sundowns’ happy players yielding results
MAMELODI Sundowns will likely get a small fine and keep their Nedbank Cup crown after putting a suspended Tebogo Langerman on their team sheet during the final against Bloemfontein Celtic on Saturday night.
Langerman picked up a fourth yellow card in the final game of the PSL season against Black Leopards last weekend, thus making him ineligible to feature against Celtic in the final of South Africa’s premier club knockout competition on Saturday.
But to the surprise of the football fraternity, the 34-year-old left-back was on the bench when the Brazilians ran out victorious at Orlando Stadium over the weekend.
Gaston Sirino’s solo goal ensured that Sundowns bagged a domestic treble, having won the Telkom Knockout and league title earlier this season.
In their attempts to prevent Sundowns from being crowned Nedbank Cup champions and have the result overturned, Celtic lodged an official complaint to the PSL after the final whistle.
However, it appears to be a matter of too little too late for Celtic as they should have protested the involvement of Langerman in the match-day squad 30 minutes before kickoff in line with Rule 51.3 of the PSL rules and regulations.
“Let’s start with participation. Langerman was on the bench. Did he participate,” said former PSL general manager Ace Ncobo on his personal Twitter account.
“In terms of Rule 16.5, a player who is named in the team sheet is deemed to have participated in the match.
“So indeed, Langerman participated.
“Did Bloemfontein Celtic lodge a valid protest? From what I’m able to gather, Celtic made a submission AFTER the match, which would then categorise their submission as a complaint rather than a protest.
“It therefore follows that, Celtic did not lodge a protest with the league and therefore there is no disciplinary protest that places the match and its outcomes under review.”
Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane said he was unaware of Langerman’s suspension prior to the final.
However, he stressed that football should always be decided on the pitch.